Happy St. Patrick's Day! Besides wearing green to avoid getting pinched, I've never done much to celebrate this holiday. Although I have a very Irish maiden name, my father's ancestors are decidedly Scottish; my 13ish% Emerald Isle DNA comes from a fourth great-grandfather on my mother's side. The fact that he was born in Ireland is about all we know about him, unfortunately. Since we're all a little Irish today, our Top Ten Tuesday prompt du jour gives a nod to St. Patty: Top Ten Green Book Covers. I'm going to go in a little bit different direction and talk about books I want to read that are set in Ireland and written by Irish authors. (As always, Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl.)

Before I get to that, though, I want to tell you about the movie I saw last night since it's based on a popular novel. I'm not much for sci-fi, but I read Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir for book club a couple years ago and really liked it. My husband is also a fan, so we've both been looking forward to the movie adaptation. The film officially comes out on March 20, but we were able to go see an early screening in an IMAX theater. Both of us were a little worried about whether or not goofy Ryan Gosling could pull off the part of Rylan Grace, but you know what? We were both surprised at how perfect he was in the role. My favorite part about the Project Hail Mary book is the sweet friendship that blooms between Grace and his alien friend, Rocky. That relationship is the focus of the film, and it's very well done. Action-wise, the movie is a little slow, but it still kept me engaged. Overall, it's a sweet, funny, moving watch that my husband and I both really enjoyed. My husband collects pins, so he was especially excited about these freebies we got for seeing the movie at IMAX:

I don't generally like Hollywood adaptations, but I have to agree with Rocky on this one: Amaze, Amaze, Amaze!

1. Dead in Dublin by Catie Murphy—Although Murphy was born and raised in Alaska, she has strong Irish roots, and now resides in Ireland, so I'm counting her! 

This book is the first installment in a cozy mystery series starring Dublin limo driver Megan Malone. New to the city, she's enjoying settling into her new home and career when a client dies suddenly after dining in a local restaurant. When the eatery's owner is blamed for poisoning the beloved international star with spoiled seafood, she begs Megan to find out what really killed the woman before she ends up in prison, or worse, loses her restaurant. 

2. Everything She Didn't Say by Jane Casey—I'm a big fan of Casey's mystery novels, especially her Maeve Kerrigan series. This book, her newest, is a standalone about two friends staying together in a clifftop house in County Mayo. When one of the women is discovered in blood-stained clothing and the other goes missing, the authorities begin asking questions. Locals insist they only ever saw one woman at the house. Is the other woman lying? Or has something horrible happened to her friend? 

Everything She Didn't Say comes out on July 16 in the U.K. I'm not sure when it will be available in the U.S.

3. Foster by Claire Keegan—This "beautiful, sad, and eerie" novel is about a young girl who gets sent to live with a foster family in rural Ireland. There, she finds the love and stability she's been missing. When a secret is revealed, however, it threatens to upend the idyllic life she's been enjoying.

4. The Trial by Jo Spain—Ten years ago, 20-year-old Theo got out of the bed he was sharing with his girlfriend, Dani, and vanished, leaving behind his family, the elite college where he was studying medicine, and a distraught partner. A decade later, Dani returns to the school as a history professor. Theo's unsolved disappearance still haunts her. It soon becomes clear that St. Edmunds is hiding as many secrets within its walls as Dani is keeping inside hers.

5. Light a Penny Candle by Maeve Binchy—I'm still mourning the 2012 death of this beloved Irish author. I've read and loved all of her books, but it's been a long time, so I'm going to begin a reread campaign, starting with Light a Penny Candle (1980), her first novel. It concerns Aisling and Elizabeth, two lifelong friends who have supported each other through thick and thin. They can survive anything as long as they have each other, or can they?

6. The Keeper by Tana French (available March 31, 2026)—French is another Irish crime writer whose books I adore. (I guess she's technically American-Irish since she was born in Vermont, but her father is Irish and she holds both American and Irish citizenship.) At any rate, I've read all of French's novels except this one, her latest. The Keeper is the last installment in a trilogy starring Cal Hooper, an American detective who decides to retire in a small, peaceful Irish village. Although he intends to stay under the radar, he soon becomes entangled in the dramas, grievances, romances, and even crimes that play out in his new town. In this final volume, Cal can't help but get involved when a sweet local girl is found dead in a river. He soon discovers that her death is not as straightforward as it seems. As things get ever more complicated, Cal and his loved become ever more at risk.

7. Death at Whitewater Church by Andrea Carter—This is the first installment in a mystery series starring solicitor Benedicta "Ben" O'Keeffe who helps Sergeant Tom Molloy solve intriguing cases. As the title of this one indicates, Ben is hired by the owners of a deconsecrated church when human remains are discovered on its grounds. The finding creates new interest in the case of a man who went missing on his wedding day six years ago, and the solicitor can't help her own intrigue with the mystery. What really happened to the vanished groom?

8. The Paper Bracelet by Rachael English—As an adoptive mother, I can't get enough of novels like this one. It's about a woman who worked at a west Ireland mother and baby home in the 1960s. While there, she took copious notes about the residents, notes she has held onto for decades. After her husband dies, she decides to use the information in her notebook to try to reunite the mothers with their children. As she proceeds, getting mixed results, she is forced to face her own secrets from the past.

9. The Hungry Road by Marita Conlon-McKenna—When a potato blight ravishes crops in Ireland in 1845, it changes irrevocably the lives of millions of people. This novel looks at the event through the eyes of two of them.

10. Watermelon by Marian Keyes—This list features some heavy books, so I'll end off with a lighter read. Watermelon is the first book in a family drama series about the triumphs and travails of the various female members of a big, chaotic Dublin family.

There you are, ten books I want to read that are set in Ireland and written by Irish authors. Have you read any of them? Which books set in the Emerald Isle are your favorite? Which Irish writers do you like most? I'd truly love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog.

Last week's TTT was all about the things that make us want to take a second look at a book. Today's prompt explores the flip side, asking what elements cause us to shy away from certain volumes. I always try to keep my TTT lists positive, but I have to say that this list was actually much easier to make than the last one. I guess I know what I don't like more than what I do?? For whatever reason, this list came together rapidly, without me having to think much about it at all.

As always, Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl. Check out her awesome blog for great reading recommendations and all the deets on this fun meme.

1. Covers featuring scantily-clad people—This is probably my #1 turn-off when it comes to books. I don't read much romance at all and I especially don't want to read the kind that's signaled by people wearing next to nothing on their covers. Same goes with erotic poses or suggestive images of any type. I'm a big prude, so these types of books are just not my thing at all. 

2. Books described as "spicy," "sexy," etc.—I guess this is pretty much the same thing as #1. Again, not for me. If I'm going to read romance, I prefer the sweet, closed-door kind.

3. True crime—I discovered Ann Rule in high school when I attended a writing conference where she was speaking. Her true crime books engrossed and fascinated me, violent and disturbing as they often were. At some point in my young adulthood, the genre as a whole just got to be too much for me. While I can handle books about white collar or non-violent offenses, I won't read true accounts of violent/disturbing crimes. I don't need the nightmares.

4. Low-star ratings/negative reviews—Even though we all know that book reviews/ratings are highly subjective, I still pay attention to them. If a book gets consistently poor reviews/ratings, especially from reviewers I trust, I'm unlikely to waste my time on it.

5. Sports and politics—While I enjoy reading about religion, I have zero interest in the other two members of this taboo trio. Even novels with these themes are generally a turn-off for me.

6. Profanity in a book's title—I'm a person who doesn't swear. Ever. When my kids were younger, they were totally shocked when I lost my temper and used the word "hell" in a sentence that had nothing to do with the Bible. They still bring up that one time I cussed at them because it was so unusual! They were also scandalized when I checked How to Write a Damn Good Novel by James N. Frey out from the library because it had a bad word in the title. I can handle profanity inside a book (although I'd rather there wasn't any), but if it's in the title, I won't buy it or check it out. Even on my Kindle. I'd never hear the end of it from my family! LOL.

7. High fantasy and hard sci-fi—I do read the occasional fantasy (Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings, for example) and sci-fi books. (In fact, I surprised myself recently by enjoying Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, although I did DNF The Martian because all the tedious detail put me to sleep.) In general, though, I shy away from these genres. They're just not what I typically enjoy reading.

8. Short stories—My favorite thing about reading is sinking myself deeply into different worlds and experiences. I love the feeling of being completely carried away by a book. Short stories don't do that for me, so I read them only very rarely.

9. Poetry—While I love verse novels, I avoid poetry. I never seem to get what poems are trying to say. They make me feel dumb, honestly!

10. A previously disliked author—Even my favorite writers sometimes pen stinkers, so I never say never, but, on the whole, I'm unlikely to want to pick up a book by an author whose writing I haven't enjoyed in the past. 

There you are, the top ten things that will make me give a book a wide berth. Are you the same way or completely opposite? What elements of a book turn you off? I'd truly love to know. Leave me a comment on this post and I will gladly return the favor on your blog. I also reply to comments you leave here at BBB.

Edited to add: I'm having trouble commenting on some of your WordPress-hosted blogs. When I try to leave a comment, I get a "Not Acceptable!An appropriate representation of the requested resource could not be found on this server. This error was generated by Mod_Security" error. I'm not sure what this means or how to fix it. So, just know if you have a WP blog and you don't see a comment from me, I got this error when I tried. I'm commenting on everyone's blogs this week; bummer that some of you will never see them. Boo hoo.

It's been a rough week already and it's barely Wednesday, but I didn't want to miss Top Ten Tuesday even if I'm late to the party. TTT makes me happy—I need happy this week! I'm stumped on the prompt, though. My brain and memory aren't up for much right now, so I'm going to forgo the official topic—Top Ten Unlikable Characters You Can't Help But Love—and do a simpler one. 

As always, Top Ten Tuesday is hosted by the lovely Jana over at That Artsy Reader Girl. Click on over there and give her some love! And if you want to join in the TTT fun, please do, even though it's not Tuesday.

Now that it's November, I'm really starting to think about the books I still want to read before 2022 is gone forever. My goal is to read 200 books this year; I'm at 153 now, so I've got some work to do. At the moment, I'm concentrating on reading for two book awards programs I'm helping to judge, but—of course—there are other titles I want to get to as well. So here are ten that I want to read before 2022 ends.

1. Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir—Okay, this is one I need to read, not necessarily want to read, but still...Sci-fi has never been my favorite genre, but Weir's books are so popular that I couldn't not give them a chance. I started The Martian and gave up after a chapter or two. All that detail about every little thing put me right to sleep! My husband adored both The Martian and Project Hail Mary. My book club is reading the latter this month, so I'm finally going to brave it. Wish me luck!

2. A Song Called Home by Sara Zarr—I've enjoyed several of Zarr's YA books. This is her first novel for middle-graders. It concerns a girl named Lou who's satisfied with her life in the city, even if her dad drinks too much and her family has little in the way of material comforts. When her mom decides to move in with her boyfriend, leaving the city and her dad behind, Lou feels adrift. On her last night in her old home, she finds a guitar on her front porch. Although the giver has remained anonymous, she assumes it's from her dad and that learning how to play it will, somehow, keep him close to her despite the distance between them. Sounds like a sweet read.

3. Madwoman by Louisa Treger—I've talked about this historical novel before. It's based on the true story of Nellie Bly's terrifying but illuminating undercover infiltration of the famous mental asylum on New York's Blackwell's Island in 1887.

4. Ashton Hall by Lauren Belfer—This Gothic mystery is about a woman who is happy to escape her unraveling life in New York City to stay with an ill relative at a manor house in England. When her young, neurodivergent son discovers human remains in a forgotten wing, she becomes consumed with learning about the woman whose skeleton was hidden in mysterious Ashton Hall.

5. Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese—I'm #3 on the library waiting list for this buzzy novel. You probably already know that the story is a reimagining of the life of the woman who inspired Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter. It sounds intriguing.

6. A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens—This classic novella actually fits this week's real TTT prompt about unlikable characters. It's one of my favorite books of all time. I re-read it every December to get me in the Christmas spirit.

7. Somewhere Sisters: A Story of Adoption, Identity, and the Meaning of Family by Erika Hayasaki—I'm an adoptive mom, so I'm always interested in books like this one. It recounts the true story of a pair of identical twins who were born in Vietnam in 1998. The girls' biological mother could not take care of them. One was adopted and raised in a poor, rural village in Vietnam by her biological aunt. The other was adopted by a wealthy white family and raised in a prosperous Chicago household. When the American adoptive mother learned her daughter had a twin back in Vietnam, she reunited the sisters, who were teens at the time. Sounds like an incredible story.

8. No Strangers Here by Carlene O'Connor—I just heard about this series opener (probably from one of your blogs) and it sounds excellent. When the dead body of a bloke known as "The Dancing Man" is found murdered on a beach in southwest Ireland, Detective Inspector Cormac O'Brien gets the case. His investigation in the small town of Dingle leads him to the dead man's rumored lover. When Dimpna Wilde's mother comes under suspicion of murdering "The Dancing Man," Dimpna returns to the hometown she gladly left behind to clear her mother's name. 

9. Embers On the Wind by Lisa Williamson Rosenberg—This dual-timeline novel revolves around Whittaker House, an old Massachusetts home that was once a stop on the Underground Railroad. Inhabited by the ghosts of two women who died there while trying to escape slavery, it's now a posh vacation rental. The ghosts observe the modern-day holiday-makers, many of whom are Black women who are not as free as they appear. 

10. A Murder at Balmoral by Chris McGeorge—I'm not a person who cares for real-life drama, royal or otherwise, but this holiday murder mystery sounds like a fun caper. The royal family is gathered in Scotland for Christmas when the king dies from poisoning. Everyone in the dysfunctional clan is a suspect, but who actually did the dirty deed?

There you are, ten books I want to read before 2022 disappears. Which titles are you itching to read before the new year? Do you have any villains you love to hate? I'd truly love to know.

Today's Top Ten Tuesday prompt is kind of a strange one.  In honor of her birthday (Happy birthday, Jana!), our TTT host is playing book wish fairy.  Here's her explanation of Top Ten Birthday Wishes:  My birthday is today, so celebrate with me by granting the wishes of your friends! This is a popular thing to do on Twitter, but today we’re blog hopping. List the top 10 books you’d love to own and include a link to a wishlist so that people can grant your wish. Make sure you link your wishlist to your mailing address [here’s how to do it on Amazon] or include the email address associated with your ereader so people know how to get the book to you. After you post, jump around the Linky and grant a wish or two if you’d like. Don’t feel obligated to send anything!  I'm not much for Twitter, so I've never heard of this phenomenon.  If I were rich enough, I would absolutely grant everyone's bookish wishes.  Unfortunately, I haven't won the lottery recently (or ever since I don't gamble), so I'm going to ignore today's prompt.  I am going to sort of stick with the birthday theme, though.  How's that?  Rogue, but not too rogue!